Elements of Science Project final application form (printable)
http://elements-of-science.wikispaces.com/file/view/Elements+of+Science+-+printable.pdf/122417501/Elements%20of%20Science%20-%20printable.pdf

5.1 Summary
Through transnational partnership our project aims to raise the profile of science learning and teaching across our school communities. By making science accessible and enjoyable, we aim to nurture in the children of today the scientists of tomorrow.
Specific aims for the children will include:
Increased motivation
Improved learning and thinking skills
Skills for life and work
Our project seeks to emphasise the importance of science in our daily lives and provide our children with the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to look to the sciences as a future route to the world of work.

5.2 Context


5.3 Objectives of the partnership
The principal aim of our partnership is as follows:
Through transnational partnership, we aim to raise the profile, relevance and importance of science within our learning communities (our pupils, teachers and parents). This will be achieved through
1) improved pedagogical approaches to the teaching of sciences - to include innovative and creative contexts for learning, use of ICT by all in our learning communities
2) through a focus on making learning and teaching fun – increasing pupil motivation, improving learning and thinking skills, learning-to-learn skills and the embedding in our curriculum of skills for life, which in turn will encourage pupils to remain in education and look to the sciences as a future route to the world of work
3) through the use of ICT to develop and enhance learning and teaching, collaborative working practices and communication
4) building capacity within our learning communities e.g. by developing the role of parents as partners in children’s learning.

5.4 Partnership and distribution of tasks
As the co-ordinating institution it will be the role of the Slovak school to ensure the smooth running of the project – that activities progress as planned, that good communication is maintained between pupils, teachers and parents, and that deadlines are met by all schools in the partnership. The French and Slovenian schools will support all partners in the use of the e-Twinning portal and ICT applications/tools such as wikis and video conferencing to promote communication and collaborative working between school communities. The Scottish school will lead partners in the joint completion of all relevant documentation e.g. partnership proposals, minutes of project meetings, interim and end of project reporting etc. The Scottish school will also lead partners in the use of Responsive Planning (Talking and Thinking Books) as a means to actively involve children in determining the direction of their own learning. A Project Information Leaflet for all learners (pupils, teachers and parents) will be designed by the Slovak school and sent to all partners for dissemination within their communities. The *-*-* school will prepare a quarterly newsletter for all learners within the partnership. This will also be sent to all partner schools for dissemination within their communities. In addition, all schools will work together on the following agreed project activities:
  • Introductory school presentation – all schools will prepare a presentation to ‘introduce’ themselves to each other’s school communities.
  • Development of eco gardens as a context for learning across the partnership and on-going collaborative working.
  • Weekly recording and collation of weather data for use across the partnership and within individual schools, as a resource for their science programmes and other learning & teaching activities.
  • As learning communities (pupils, teachers and parents), to prepare, exchange, deliver and record science lessons and activities on the topics of Light, Sound and Water.
  • Build capacity within our learning communities (pupils, teachers and parents) in pedagogical approaches to learning & teaching e.g. exploring together the use of ICT such as wikis, collaborative tools (such as the eTwinning work space), video conferencing; sharing and developing approaches to parental involvement in children’s learning; teaching approaches such as responsive planning.

5.5 Co-operation and communication
The co-ordinating institution will ensure that good communication is maintained between pupils, teachers and parents in the partnership and that deadlines are met by all schools in the project. The partner schools will likewise ensure that they fulfil the plans agreed for each year of partnership working.
Shared work space, available through the eTwinning Portal and the ‘elements-of-science.wikispaces.com’ website, will be used as the principal communication tool for the project – to post scientific data, experiments for partner schools, reports/record of results etc. Project activities such as the development of eco gardens will be recorded digitally (photographs and video) and shared with partners to provide further learning opportunities. Science experiments will be recorded and shared both within and across communities. All schools are committed to maintaining regular contact between teachers, pupils and parents – this will be fostered through the use of email, ‘public’ and ‘secure’ blogs and wikis, the eTwinning portal, an ‘Elements of Science’ website and video conferencing.
All schools will work constantly to maintain enthusiasm and commitment to the project – disseminating information to all classes, parents and the wider community, and encouraging the participation of other teachers and classes throughout each of our schools.
Effective co-operation will be ensured through good advance planning – partners will review and agree tasks and responsibilities for the year ahead at the first project meeting of each session; evaluation of activities and the project as a whole will also be embedded in the cycle of project planning meetings proposed.

5.6 Impact and European added value


5.7 Relevance for the objectives of the programme
To improve the quality and to increase the volume of mobility involving pupils and educational staff in different Member States (compulsory)
To improve the quality and to increase the volume of partnerships between schools in different Member States, so as to involve at least 3 million pupils in joint educational activities during the period of the programme (compulsory)
To encourage the learning of modern foreign languages.
To support the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice in lifelong learning.
To support improvements in pedagogical approaches and school management.

5.8 Evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation of the project will be a key part of our planned activity calendar - evaluation of progress and impact of project activities will form part of each project meeting: partners will use the feedback from each school to inform ‘next steps’ in our partnership working.
Partners will evaluate the impact of the project in their own establishments on an annual basis using a range of evaluation tools and formative assessment strategies, based on each school’s current local and national practice.
It is intended that staff, parents and pupils participate in the monitoring and evaluation process
1) Through the use of pre and post learning questionnaires - to be devised by the French school
2) Through the use of Learning Logs
3) Through the use of the eTwinning Portal (shared work space) and wikis, where all partners will post reports and evaluations on the impact of the science lessons and activities exchanged between schools
4) Through the planned input of our students at project meetings – all children attending project meetings will be required to give a presentation (in their own language) on the experiments/activities undertaken within their schools.
Over the life of this project, we will also use Responsive Planning approaches (Talking and Thinking Books). These will be used within our classrooms, displayed within our schools and shared with partners at each of our project meetings to provide our communities with further information and evidence of on-going evaluation of the impact of our project activities on learning & teaching.

5.12 Topics
25 – New technologies, ICT
34 – Methods to increase pupil motivation
42 – Natural Sciences

5.13 Educational Fields
Physics
Chemistry
Biology

6.1 Work Programme: planned activities, including mobility activities, of each participating organisation

Approx starting date

Activity/mobility description

Destination country

Which partners involved

Sept 10

All partners to prepare introductory presentation on their schools to share e.g. on eTwinning work space.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Sept 10

Pre learning questionnaire prepared and distributed to all partners.


Fr

Sept 10

All schools to undertake survey of their learning communities (staff, pupils, parents) regarding attitudes to science and science learning & teaching. Schools collate results and bring to 1st project meeting. These will be shared on the ‘Elements of Science’ website.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Oct 10

Information leaflet on project aims and activities prepared by Slovak school and distributed to all partners for dissemination.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Oct 10

All schools prepare eco gardens within their grounds for on-going collaborative work on biology.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Oct 10

Public website developed to share project work/activities with the wider community


Fr, Sl

Oct 10

eTwinning work space established and invitations/rights extended to all partners


Fr, Sl

Nov 10

First project meeting. Training given to all partners on eTwinning Portal and wikis. Agree recording of weather data across partnership. Introduction to talking and thinking books by Scottish school.

Slovenia

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Nov 10

Weekly recording of weather data begins. Information shared with all partners on eTwinning work space.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Dec 10

Exchange of Christmas cards between classes/pupils/schools.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Jan 11

First quarterly project newsletter prepared by *** school and sent to partners for distribution within school communities


***

Feb 11

Second project meeting. Planning of school experiments and activities on Light. Pupil presentations on weather activities and eco garden developments.

France

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Feb 11

Schools prepare, exchange and deliver experiments/activities on Light. Lessons recorded and shared via eTwinning Portal/’Elements of Science’ wiki. Reports/evaluation of lessons and activities shared on eTwinning Portal/’Elements of Science’ wiki.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

May 11

First post learning questionnaire within learning communities undertaken by all partners. Results collated and shared with learning communities through eTwinning Portal/’Elements of Science’ wiki.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

June 11

Third project meeting. Pupil presentations on Light experiments/activities. Update on weather recording and eco garden developments. Planning of school experiments and activities on Sound.

Scotland

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

June 11

Second quarterly project newsletter prepared by *** school and sent to partners for distribution within school communities.


***

Sept 11

Schools prepare, exchange and deliver experiments/activities on Sound. Lessons recorded and shared via eTwinning Portal/’Elements of Science’ wiki. Reports/assessment of lessons and activities shared on eTwinning Portal/ ‘Elements of Science’ wiki.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Oct 11

Fourth project meeting. Evaluation of first year of project working (questionnaires, learning logs, thinking and talking books). Finalise planning of year 2 activities in light of evaluation. Detailed planning for experiments and activities on Water.

Romania

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Oct 11

Interim report prepared and distributed to all partners


Sco

Dec 11

Exchange of Christmas cards between classes/pupils/schools.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Jan 12

Fifth project meeting. Pupil presentations on Sound experiments/activities. Update on weather recording and eco garden developments.

Spain

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

Jan 12

Third quarterly project newsletter prepared by *** school and sent to partners for distribution within school communities.


***

Jan 12

Schools prepare, exchange and deliver experiments/activities on Water. Lessons recorded and shared via eTwinning Portal/ ‘Elements of Science’ wiki. Reports/assessment of lessons and activities shared on eTwinning Portal/ ‘Elements of Science’ wiki.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

March 12

Sixth project meeting. Pupil presentations on Water experiments/activities. Update on weather recording and eco garden developments.

Italy

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

May 12

Final post learning questionnaire within learning communities undertaken by all partners.


Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl

June 12

Final quarterly project newsletter prepared by *** school and sent to partners for distribution within school communities.


***

June 12

Final project meeting. Evaluation of second year of project working (questionnaires, learning logs, thinking and talking books) and project as a whole. Preparation of end of project report. Information and results published on eTwinning Portal and public website; shared and disseminated within wider school communities.

Slovakia

Esp, Fr, It, Ro, Sco, Sk, Sl




6.2 Number of pupils and staff involved in the partnership in each of the participating organisations (persons taking part in Partnership activities, both local activities and/or mobility)

Name of participating organisation

Country

Total number of pupils involved

Total number of staff involved


France




Italy




Romania



Meldrum School

Scotland



Základná škola Ivana Branislava Zocha

Slovakia



Osnovna šola Preska

Slovenia



CEIP Narcisco Alonso Cortés

Spain







6.3 Expected results, including products if relevant

Number

Approx Date

Description

1

September 2010

All schools will prepare an ‘Introductory Presentation’ to be exchanged via eTwinning workspace to introduce themselves to the learning communities across the partnership. Presentations will be shared with staff, pupils and parents.

2

October 2010

Eco gardens established in all schools. Gardens will be developed over the life of the project partnership to provide a shared context for learning and collaborative working.

3

November 2010

Weekly recording of weather data begins. Information shared with all partners on eTwinning work space to provide all schools with a database of information for use at project and individual school level.

4

December 2010

All classes will design and make Christmas cards to send to partnership schools. All schools will display these cards in a central area for sharing with all staff, pupils and parents. A further display will be held in December 2011.

5

January 2011

First quarterly publication of ‘Elements of Science’ newsletter to learning communities. The newsletter will be distributed again in June 2011, January 2012 and June 2012.

5

February 2011

Exchange of lessons/activities/experiments on Light for delivery across partnership.

6

September 2011

Exchange of lessons/activities/experiments on Sound for delivery across partnership.

7

January 2012

Exchange of lessons/activities/experiments on Water for delivery across partnership.

8

June 2012

Elements of Science’ website will feature all aspects of the two year partnership project – with articles, presentations, photographs, reports and project evaluations.



7. Requested EU funding

Participating organisation

Country

Partnership Type

Nr of planned outgoing mobilities (students)

Nr of planned outgoing mobilities (staff)

Total nr of outgoing mobilities

Grant amount requested


France

COM-24M

12





Italy

COM-24M

12





Romania

COM-24M

12




Meldrum School

Scotland

COM-24M

12




Základná škola Ivana Branislava Zocha

Slovakia

COM-24M

12




Osnovna šola Preska

Slovenia

COM-24M

12




CEIP Narcisco Alonso Cortés

Spain

COM-24M

12